* Schaeffler/Conti Group will introduce co-determination
* Schaeffler partners reiterate their willingness to transfer shares in the Schaeffler Group
* The Schaeffler family will remain the main partners of the Conti/Schaeffler Group in the future
* The Schaeffler partners will implement a participation program for employees

By putting their signatures today on a joint key point paper, the partners of the Schaeffler Group, Maria-Elisabeth and Georg Schaeffler, as well as the Chairman of IG Metall, Berthold Huber, have agreed a basis for cooperation between IG Metall and the partners of the Schaeffler Group as part of safeguarding the future of the Conti/Schaeffler Group.

Berthold Huber: “The objective of IG Metall is to safeguard jobs at the Continental and Schaeffler locations. This agreement is the foundation to secure a good future for the Group. We request that all those involved also work intensively towards this future, in the same manner and on the basis of the agreed principles.”

The partners will introduce co-determination for Schaeffler, irrespective of which legal form the group of companies will have in the future. The partners will also part with a portion of their shareholding in the Schaeffler Group in order to make a contribution towards reducing debts. IG Metall will give its support to the Schaeffler family so that it remains the main partners of the Group in the future.

Both sides emphasize in the paper the economic sense of the merger between Continental and Schaeffler in the context of industrial policy. Schaeffler’s mechanical expertise and Continental’s electronic technology complement each other and this is of system-relevant importance for the entire automotive industry, irrespective of the current economic crisis. Both sides are agreed that there must be no compulsory redundancies due to the merger of Schaeffler and Continental. The Schaeffler family agrees to establish a program of employee participation from its future shareholding.

Georg Schaeffler: “It is important to think of the future and to set the course that will maintain the Group as one entity and safeguard jobs. We assume our responsibility financially and in respect of the employees and the company.” Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler: “We are confident that the unity between IG Metall and ourselves as partners in such fundamental questions will make a decisive contribution towards creating the prerequisites for safeguarding the future of the Conti/Schaeffler Group.”

A joint team will be nominated to further define the key points.

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